The Norfolk County Railroad opened its Boston Extension (the Midland Branch) from Islington to Boston on January 1, 1855, to end its dependence on the Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P) for access to downtown Boston. A station at East Street was among the original stops on the extension.[1][3] The line was closed from July 14, 1855, until late 1856 due to a lawsuit over grade crossings in Dorchester, and from 1858 to February 11, 1867, due to financial difficulties of various railroads attempting to operate the line. It reopened under the control of the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad.[1]
The station was called East Street during the brief 1850s operations and upon reopening in 1867.[a][4][5] The line became part of the New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) in 1875, by which time the station was renamed Elmwood.[1][6] It was again renamed to Endicott between 1885 and 1891.[7][8] Residential development around the station took place in the 1890s.[8][9]
The NY&NE was reorganized as the New England Railroad in 1895 and came under the control of the rival New Haven Railroad in 1898. Service to Boston operated via the Midland Branch until 1898 and thereafter mostly via the B&P mainline.[1] By the turn of the century, a depot building with a ticket office was located on the north side of the tracks at the foot of Elwood Street.[10][11] It is no longer extant.[12]
When Dedham Corporate Center station was being constructed in the late 1980s, the MBTA considered either closing Endicott station or adding a pedestrian underpass, but neither action was taken.[13] In 2019, the MBTA listed Endicott as a "Tier I" accessibility priority.[14]
East Street bridge
The rail line crossed East Street on a bridge likely from the beginning of operations; the bridge decks were replaced in 1904.[15][16] The MBTA began planning in 2019 to replace the railroad bridge.[17][18] The 1904-built bridge has 12 feet 3 inches (3.73 m) vertical clearance for road traffic, which has caused multiple crashes from over-height trucks – eleven between July 2019 and September 2023.[15] This was enough to be called "an honorary Storrow Drive bridge."[19]
The $23.1 million project will increase clearance to 14 feet (4.3 m) and add shoulders and sidewalks.[20] By September 2022, construction was expected to last from mid-2023 to early 2025.[15] In April 2024, the MBTA awarded a $16.5 million contraction contract with construction expected to last from June 2024 to August 2026.[20]
^Smith says "Elmwood" was the original name, but that doesn't match other sources.[3]
References
^ abcdeHumphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 43–45. ISBN9780685412947.
